“Isaac should be giving this speech,” Bree said, shaking her head with disgust. “Or at least Argus. He’s not one of us, Kael. He’s as foreign as Marius, yet here we are, cheering as he gives orders to our troops...”
Johan continued, his figure seeming to grow larger, his voice louder, as his excitement heightened.
“Soldiers of the Archon,” he cried. “Seraphim of Weshern, hear me! Long have I preached against the lies of Center. Some of you listened, while others responded with scorn. This morning, as we stand among the destruction that rained down upon us from the midnight skies, I trust only open eyes and ears greet me now. The fireborn have fallen, my brothers and sisters. The skies burned and bled while we too burned and bled, and why? Because Center kept yet another secret from us!”
Johan spun as he spoke, ensuring all saw the fire in his eyes.
“The theotechs knew of the demons’ existence, yet we were never warned. They left us unprepared for the disaster that befell our islands. The demons were swept away by the Endless Ocean, they claimed. Our burned crops say otherwise. Our lands were kept safe by the hands of the theotechs, they insisted. Our beloved dead say otherwise.”
He jammed a finger toward the crowd.
“What else do they hide from us?” he asked. “What other secrets do they keep that we will one day suffer for? This cannot stand. This cannot endure! On Elern, my disciples rise up. On Sothren, my followers sharpen their blades. On Candren, my believers are ready to take the lives of those who would oppress and enslave. Here on Weshern, where your people have suffered more than any other due to the Speaker’s thirst for power, will you remain peaceful? Will you lie down and wait for Center to return with chains and collars for the disobedient animals they think you are?”
Cheers of adamant denial met his question.
“Your Archon has given the order,” Johan said. “And I am proud to accept it alongside you. People of Weshern, rise up against Center, starting with their lone and final stronghold. The cowards lurk within the Crystal Cathedral. Let them not remain. Those who prepare our water and keep our islands afloat must swear their allegiance to the people they serve, and not those who would rule from beyond. Do you hear me, Seraphim? Are your blades sharp? Are your wings ready? Freedom awaits you. Have you the strength to take it?”
He hopped down from his little platform amid cheers. Kael shook his head, tired and upset.
“We go to war,” he whispered to his sister. “And we go with Johan leading the way.”
Bree patted his arm, and she smiled in a vain attempt to calm his fears.
“I’ll get our wings.”
CHAPTER
28
The Weshern Seraphim flew to Castnor, the town nearest to the Crystal Cathedral. Battle was close at hand, but it would not begin until both Johan’s and General Cutter’s ground troops arrived. Rebecca Waller had insisted they attack with all their forces combined, something Bree had found unnecessary, and she stated as much during their flight over.
“Why wait?” she’d asked Olivia West, who’d helped take over Argus’s duties since his injury. “We can destroy the soldiers from the air without fear for casualties.”
“And if they hide inside the cathedral?” Olivia asked. “Or worse, retreat into tunnels and bunkers built underneath it? We send everything, Bree. This battle may decide Weshern’s freedom. There’s no point going in at half strength.”
Bree accepted the point. With the size and weight of their wings they weren’t the greatest combatants in enclosed spaces. Best to let those with shields, spears, and armor fight the more confined battles. And if their armies did meet in open ground, whoever had the greater aerial power would arise the victor. Given how at least forty Weshern Seraphs flew with them to Castnor, Bree couldn’t imagine how that wouldn’t be them.
The Seraphim gathered in the town center, mingling about the wide empty square. Bree arrived alongside Kael and Clara, and together the trio landed near the center. Voices washed over them, dozens talking with one another, sharing their outrage, their thirst for vengeance. The quieter ones discussed tactics, or admitted their concerns for the coming fight.
“This way,” Clara said, tapping Bree’s shoulder to gain her attention. They worked their way toward the corner of the square, Bree following in the other two’s wake. She glanced at her comrades, seeing their determination amid their exhaustion, and tried to draw strength from it. They’d all suffered and lost family and friends last night. No matter how badly exhaustion weighed on her shoulders, she would push through, no differently than anyone else.
As they walked, Bree spotted one Seraphim markedly smaller than the others, her blonde hair almost as white as her skin. Bree paused, glancing over a second time at the tiny woman with wings bigger than her entire body.
“Amanda?” Bree asked as she recognized her former roommate. “Amanda, how’ve you been?”
She hugged the tiny girl, who shyly hugged back. Clara and Kael quickly joined her in greeting their friend.
“Not as well as you,” Amanda said. “My name’s not known from here to Sothren.”
“Sometimes that’s a good thing,” Kael said, and she smiled as he hugged her as well. “It’s good to see you, even if it’s, well...” He gestured to the gathering soldiers and Seraphim. “Here.”
Clara was last, and the least enthusiastic with her embrace. Bree remembered Clara’s concerns about Amanda’s hesitancy to kill in battle. Perhaps she still shared them, but given all the losses they’d suffered, any trained Seraph was better than none.
“I didn’t expect a class reunion,” Amanda said, smiling as she pulled back from Clara. “Is anyone else from ours here?”
Bree exchanged a look with Kael, and she fought down a wave of fresh hurt. Who should she mention first, Brad’s death, or Saul’s injury?
“No,” Kael said. “For now, it’s just us four.”
Amanda didn’t inquire further, which allowed Bree an inward sigh of relief. So close to another fight, the last thing she wanted was to dwell on all they’d lost. The four walked through the crowd, pushing their way to a corner of the town center so they had some measure of privacy.
“So what brought you out here to join us?” Kael asked as he leaned against the door of a closed pawnshop.
“The same that brought many others here,” Amanda said, gesturing to the gathered Seraphim. “Last night’s destruction. It can’t be ignored.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Clara said, and she glared east, as if she could see the distant Crystal Cathedral and the theotechs lurking within.
Bree watched Amanda as the woman nodded, her eyes fluttering to avoid eye contact. Something troubled her greatly, that much was easy to see.
“Are you all right?” Bree asked, touching Amanda on the shoulder. The contact startled her, but it also forced her former roommate to meet her gaze. Her eyes were heavily bloodshot. From tears, Bree wondered, or lack of sleep?
“Yeah,” Amanda said, and she crossed her hands behind her as she leaned against the pawnshop wall. “It’s just, last night, when the fire fell from the sky, I...” She paused. “We didn’t know what was going on. Most of us had nothing to fight back with. We fled and hid until Seraphim arrived to cleanse our village.” Her lower lip began to quiver, but her voice held strong. “Those creatures killed so many, and they laughed as they did it. Laughed, just laughing as they burned my mother until she...” Amanda took in a deep breath. “I was scared what would happen to my family if I joined everyone in fighting against Center,” she said after recovering. “But now it doesn’t matter. We never should have been so unprepared for what happened. Marius and his theotechs need to pay for what they cost us.”
She looked to them all.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have joined sooner, I really should have, but I was a coward.”
Bree wrapped her in another embrace.
“You’re not a coward,” she said. “You never were, not then, not now.”<
br />
Amanda didn’t look like she believed it, but she was relieved by the words nonetheless. She wiped at her face, then smiled.
“Such mighty warriors are we,” she said.
“The most terrifying in all the land,” Bree said, and she laughed.
Their laughter grew stilted as Olivia emerged from the crowd of Seraphim to join them. When she spoke, Bree noticed she addressed only her, ignoring the other three.
“Our numbers are too devastated to use our old squads,” she said. “And there’s not enough time to officially form new ones. Do you have preference for whom you’ll fly with?”
Bree gestured to her three friends.
“I’d like to stay with them,” she said. “We’ve all trained together. The four of us should be a solid squad.”
Olivia hardly looked convinced, but she acquiesced.
“Very well,” she said. “Will you fly with them, or far ahead, like you did with Phoenix Squad?”
Bree imagined holding herself back to keep the others with her, or worse, Amanda attempting to keep up with her complicated maneuvers and constant high speeds.
“I know my role,” she told the dark-haired woman. “The Phoenix leads the way into battle, does she not?”
“Until her death, she does,” Olivia said, and she quickly saluted before moving on to the next cluster of Seraphim. Amanda watched her leave, biting on her lower lip.
“I’m not sure how well I can do this,” she said when Olivia was outside earshot. “I was never able to keep up with you during drills...”
“You don’t need to keep up with me,” Bree said, and she glanced at Kael. “Just my brother. Follow his signals, and you’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
Kael chuckled as he nudged Amanda’s side.
“Come on, now,” he said. “Give me some credit. Stick with me, and we’ll make it out unscathed. I don’t hold a candle compared to Bree, but I’ve survived several battles myself.”
“Maybe it’s just all luck,” Clara said, poking him.
“Then may it not run out for many years to come,” he said, grinning.
Olivia flew into the air above the town center, and she cupped her hands to her mouth as she shouted.
“Cutter’s forces are massed east of town and ready to march. We’re their escort, so form up and follow me!”
The first inkling of nerves jittered inside Bree’s chest, and she exhaled them slowly as she looked to her friends.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” she said. “Any of you. I promise.”
“Stick with promises you can keep,” Clara said, her wings humming to life. Together the four lifted off, joining a parade flying east. Sure enough, several hundred soldiers stood armed and ready just outside town, formed up in ranks along the road. Olivia led the way, positioning the Seraphim hovering above in escort. Bree settled into a hover as distant shouts echoed below them, the combined forces slowly stirring into a march.
The first dozen lines of soldiers were Weshern’s military, but more than one hundred people crowded near the back wore the distinctive brown robes of Johan’s disciples. Most carried spears and swords, though she spotted a few wearing the single gauntlet and backpack setup that Center’s specters had used when assaulting Camp Aquila. Having elemental users sprinkled throughout the ranks would certainly provide a huge advantage in battle, yet for some reason the sight of so many disciples gathered together made her nervous. At least Johan marched with them in the heart of the formation. He was no coward or hypocrite, chanting for revolution and then hiding when it came time to bleed and die for it.
When the soldiers marched, a motion from Olivia set the Seraphim into a forward drift. At agonizingly slow speeds they made their way to the Crystal Cathedral, which shone like a jewel in a sea of green grass. Bree watched for signs of defense, and sure enough, hundreds of soldiers poured out the doors and down the front steps, outnumbering the Weshern counterparts. Knights hovered above the building, slowly circling. Bree counted fifteen, though something was off with half of them. They lacked armor, she realized, and wore red instead of white. Theotechs, then. She’d never heard of them flying into battle before, but then again, there’d likely never been reason to before today. The minor islands rebelled, and demons rained down from the sky. It seemed it was a time of firsts.
Despite their approach, Center’s aerial forces kept calm, maintaining their steady circling. No fear of the coming battle, nor Weshern’s superior numbers. Bree hoped the same could be said for their own Seraphim. She glanced behind her, to the other three in her squad. Clara looked focused as ever, but Amanda appeared a mess of nerves. Bree hovered closer to Kael, grabbing a hold of his shoulder to keep themselves steady.
“Keep to the back,” she said. “Hit the ground forces instead, and leave the knights to me.”
Bree wished she could read her brother’s expression as he stared at her for an uncomfortably long time.
“Fine,” he said. “We will.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling with relief.
He nodded but said nothing. Bree drifted away, settling into a comfortable lead ahead of the other three. The minutes passed, the ground forces closing in toward one another. Bree maintained her calm, eyes always on the knights and theotechs, watching for the moment they broke off.
And then they did, like bees fleeing a hive. All fifteen swooped out, soaring over their soldiers. Bree cast one last look to Kael, who gestured toward their foes.
“Fly on!” he shouted. “Go do what you do best!”
Bree drew her swords. She knew what that was. A mental connection clicked into place, simple and easy, and then fire erupted over her twin blades. She steadily increased the throttle until her wings were screaming, and like a comet she blasted through their ranks to emerge at the forefront. Bree held her swords out to either side, ensuring their waiting enemy saw them well.
When the Phoenix comes crashing in, I want them afraid, Commander Argus had told her once. Bree let the memories of the past few weeks flash before her eyes, of Galen’s destruction, of the demons raining down from the sky, of Brad’s collapse, his heart burst by a bolt of lightning. She channeled that sorrow and fear into rage, let it peel back her eyes as she punched her throttle to its absolute maximum. She saw every knight, every theotech, with crystalline clarity. They would fear her. They would see her and know their deaths approached. She refused to allow it be any other way.
The first barrage released, stone and ice lobbing into the air. Bree whirled her body, darting upward and then plunging low. Lightning flashed past her. Stone flew through the air around her. None would touch her. None would stop her assault. It didn’t matter if she scored a kill on her initial charge, only that all eyes were upon her, distracting them, breaking up formations and granting openings for her fellow Seraphim to seize. The knights’ fire flooded her vision, and she arced again. The straps of her harness pulled against her body, a comforting pressure as wind blasted past her.
Bree spun while flailing out her arms, almost decapitating a knight racing overhead. Her spin continued, a corkscrew of fire trailing behind her. She dove and pierced through the heart of Center’s knights, her ears overwhelmed by the sound of humming wings, breaking stone, and booming thunder. One knight unleashed a blast of lightning sideways as he flew past, just barely missing as Bree pulled up and cranked back on her throttle. Multiple lances of ice punctured the man’s body, his concentration stolen for that brief moment as he watched Bree. The knights and theotechs scattered under pressure from the overwhelming number of Weshern Seraphim.
Bree searched for a target, found one in a theotech flying backward while aiming toward her. Bree weaved side to side, spheres of stone as big as her head flying past. He couldn’t track her, his shots always a half-second behind, but it was enough to force Bree to dodge instead of soaring straight at him. She rose higher, hoping to dive down on him from above, but while he might not be equal to the knights in a
im and flight, his mastery over his element was incredible. As she rose, the theotech flung his arm, his gauntlet firing. A web of stone formed above him, pale and thin and sprawling dozens of feet in all directions.
Bree clenched her jaw and forced herself to stay calm in the face of such a bizarre attack. She rose higher, outracing the climb of the stone. As the web slowed, she spun about, diving down with arms forward as if into a lake, her grip on her swords flipped so the blades angled out and away from her body. The stone web cracked at the apex of its climb, pieces already weakening due to its thin form. Trusting her swords, she picked the largest gap and shot straight through. Her swords flared with fire, cutting clean through two lengths of the web so that when her wings connected the stone shattered. Bree saw the briefest moment of panic on the theotech’s face before she cut him down, neck to hip.
Bree pulled up on her wings, leveling out as she raced away from the stone pieces falling like rain. She glanced to the ground once, saw their armies colliding with one another. As she’d hoped, the knights were too busy focusing on the aerial battle to aid below, whereas the Weshern Seraphim rained elements down upon Center’s soldiers, crushing their numbers with stone and burning through their ranks with flame. Bree would gladly help, but first she would deal with the knights...
A lance of ice struck her wings, and she felt its vibrations travel all the way up her harness. Biting down a swear, she immediately twirled. A knight had fallen on her tail, and if she’d been traveling any slower he’d have torn through her side with the lance. So far it seemed her wings were undamaged, and she prayed it stayed that way. Another lance shot past her, missing by inches. Bree weaved side to side, wings pushed to her limits. She kept her movements erratic, raising or lowering the tiniest bit, and dragging on some dodges longer than others before veering back the other way. Several more lances pierced the air around her, each one far too close for comfort.
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